Chapter 1191, Nothing Left to Lose

Translator: Silavin

 

Shaman Zha sat alone inside a wooden room, lost in thought. He had not sat with something this long in quite a while.

 

He did not entirely know how things had reached this point. Perhaps the mistake had been made at the very beginning.

 

“We have no room left to choose anything…” Shaman Zha let out a long breath.

 

Being a Shaman carried great respect. The title sounded dignified.

 

But even so, he had no real choices available to him. He had still been unable to protect his Tribe.

 

“Shaman, don’t think too deeply about it. You had no choice either. We… our strength simply isn’t enough. That’s how it is.” Xi Qi sighed as well.

 

He had been searching for something more comforting to say. But by the time he reached the end of the thought, nothing came.

 

The Coiled Goat Tribe truly had no room left to choose. They were meat on a chopping board, waiting for whoever came along.

 

At the very beginning, perhaps, they had still carried some strength and some standing from which to speak. But now there was nothing left to push back with. To put it plainly, they moved entirely according to what others allowed them to.

 

From the moment the whole Tribe had split, their formidable strength had collapsed.

 

Because they were weak, hunting and everything that came with it had grown very difficult. And so, the Tribe’s numbers had slowly declined.

 

The whole Tribe had been on a steady downward slope. One could say it had been setting new lows, and not be wrong.

 

“If we choose the Flame Dragon Tribe, that clearly means making enemies of the Dark Scorpion Tribe. You know how strong they are…” Shaman Zha’s expression darkened.

 

He was a Tribe’s Shaman. But the Shaman Techniques he knew were not oriented for combat. He only had Blessing Shaman Techniques, and one of them was for lie detection.

 

The Lie Detection Shaman Technique was not useful in battle against their enemies.

 

What should he do? Ask them how strong they were? And if they said: not very strong. And if the Lie Detection Shaman Technique said that was a lie, and they were in fact extraordinary, what then?

 

“Shaman, I understand that. But it’s the snow season right now. They can’t do much to us in this weather.” Xi Qi glanced instinctively over his shoulder, saw nothing unusual, and continued. “As long as we join Flame Dragon Tribe, they will shelter us. And that’s only one part of it.”

 

He had been deeply opposed to the idea of joining Flame Dragon Tribe at first. But he had listened to the conversation during the night, and his attitude had been slowly shifting.

 

What the Warriors had said, Xi Qi remembered quite clearly. The Flame Dragon Tribe had food and supplies in abundance. More than that, the strength of the whole Tribe was formidable.

 

Those conversations had been the Flame Dragon Tribe’s Totem Warriors letting things slip while pretending to chat casually. That was exactly why the information felt trustworthy.

 

“That’s true enough. But have you thought about this? The choice they’ve given us is very open. Signing or not signing is entirely our decision.” Shaman Zha said.

 

He did not actually want to join Flame Dragon Tribe. What he wanted, above all else, was freedom.

 

Honestly, no Tribe wanted to be ruled by another. Freedom was something everyone wanted deeply.

 

Shaman Zha had been thinking: perhaps with freedom, the Coiled Goat Tribe could develop properly at last.

 

He had even entertained the thought that maybe without joining Flame Dragon Tribe, they could simply cooperate with them instead.

 

“Shaman, that isn’t realistic. They know we have no other options, which is exactly why they’ve given us this choice. If we don’t join them, what can we realistically do on our own?” Xi Qi shook his head vigorously and kept going. “And we gain absolutely nothing from our freedom. If another stronger Tribe comes, one willing to cross over the mountains, what then?”

 

He was clear-headed about it. A little thought was enough to see through the situation.

 

There was no free meal in this world. The Flame Dragon Tribe had its own reasons for wanting to help. And when one compared what they could actually offer, the answer was plain enough.

 

“Well. We’re in a very passive position to begin with. Finding a strong backer isn’t the worst thing.” Shaman Zha let out a slow, heavy breath.

 

The idea of freedom that had been turning over in his mind was extinguished. What showed on his face now was the look of someone who had found nothing left worth clinging to.

 

“We cooperate with them and we get many useful products in return. We’ll come out of this for the better.” Xi Qi offered at once.

 

In truth, the goods Flame Dragon Tribe had brought had already won him over completely. Every item was something he liked.

 

Beyond the meat and Animal Hides that were necessities during the snow season, there was the surplus wine, which he found very appealing.

 

“If it truly is the way they’ve described it, I have no objection to this arrangement.” Shaman Zha simply feared some hidden difference lurking underneath the words.

 

Things sounded very promising right now. Fine goods, and freedom kept intact.

 

But he was afraid of something different showing itself later on. That would be the genuinely helpless outcome.

 

“Shaman, our Tribe has nothing left to lose. What could they possibly want from us?” Xi Qi said immediately.

 

He had shifted his thinking now. He was asking himself what the Tribe could possibly have that another Tribe would covet.

 

Strength? Their strength was what it was. They were far too weak if it came to a fight.

 

Food was out of the question. They could barely feed themselves. Their geographical position was much the same, it was extremely inconvenient to reach. That had always been their greatest disadvantage and advantage.

 

Defensible, yes. It was hard to attack because of the mountains. But the Flame Dragon Tribe was strong enough that they had no need of any geographical advantage to offer.

 

“That’s true. That sentence of yours has opened things up for me. What do we have left to lose?” Shaman Zha’s face carried a faint smile now.

 

He thought, [Even if we got swindled, it might just be worth it. Because whether we get swindled or not, our lives are already in a mess. At least, before being swindled, the Tribe would still get to live well for a stretch of time.]

 

“If we’ve decided, we’ll sign the Contract with them tomorrow.” Xi Qi said.

 

“Sign it, sign it. Didn’t they say there were even greater benefits coming later? Then we’ll wait and see.” Shaman Zha waved a hand.

 

“Yes. I’ll go speak to the Tribe tonight, so everyone is ready by tomorrow.” Xi Qi said cheerfully and ran out at once.